Around a dozen saffron-robed Kanwar pilgrims wrecked a car — driven by a CISF Inspector's daughter — with rods and sticks and toppled it on a busy street in West Delhi's Moti Nagar area on Tuesday evening, as policemen and passers-by looked on.
A video of the vandalism that took place around 5.30 pm went viral on social media, but the police took 24 hours to register a case, that too against "unknown" people. The car had brushed past one of the kanwariyas after which the entire group turned violent.
Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage by Shiva devotees who walk from their homes to Haridwar to fetch Ganga water during Shravan. Various camps and rest stops are set up for devotees on roadsides that disrupt traffic.
The police said that initially there were only two cops and when they saw the car being vandalised and the violent behaviour, they wanted to search for the injured.
The police said an officer also rushed to the spot after receiving a complaint. Because the road was jammed, he took around ten minutes to reach the spot on foot, the police said, adding, "A male and a female were travelling in the car. They were coming from Connaught Place."
" The vehicle hit one of the Kanwariyas after which an altercation began. One of the occupants slapped a kanwariya after which the group turned violent and vandalised the car," said Vijay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, West District.
"Their was a traffic jam as well and by the time reinforcement arrived the kanwariyas had left. The inspector (investigation) of Moti Nagar police station reached by 5:48pm but by then no kanwariya could be seen anywhere," said Kumar.
The police also said the occupants of the car had left the spot to save themselves and later did not want to give a complaint. However on inquiries and as per CCTV footage, a case under section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50 or more) was registered.
DALIT PROTESTS OFF
- Thursday’s Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups over the SC/ ST Act was deferred
- All India Ambedkar Mahasabha said it was done keeping in mind the Kanwariya Yatra
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